The Kennard Hotel in Bath

November 1, 2016

Hopefully you will have seen my previous post on my experiences in Bath, including some amazing food experiences and a lovely spa morning. I also wanted to do a separate review of the Kennard Hotel where we stayed, as it was a really lovely experience.

The hotel

We arrived at the hotel on a Friday afternoon and already loved the location – the hotel is part of a stretch of beautiful Georgian houses built in 1794 just on the outskirts of Bath.

We checked in with a very friendly girl from the front of house, and were shown to our room which was on the first floor right next to reception. We booked one of the two larger rooms (both on the ground floor) which used to be the original reception rooms for the house back in the day. Our room looked out onto the street, but you hardly heard any noise from it.

The hotel is beautiful – and you can tell they have made a real effort to preserve the original charm but update it with all the modern amenities. The rooms are spaced over 3 floors, with the dining room in the basement. There is a really sweet, small English garden with seating, as well as a “library” where you can sit and look out over the garden if the weather is slightly cooler like it was for us. And get this, they have an “honesty bar” where they stock wine, spirits and beer, and if you take anything you simply write down your name and room number on a sheet which they charge it to your room when you check out. I love that!

The room

There are 11 rooms total, each a different size and decorated in its own style. We booked one of the two larger rooms, located on the ground floor next to reception. Our room looked out onto the road but there was very little noise from it. However, we did hear squeaky floorboards from some (very) early morning risers in the room above us.

The room was very spacious and decorated in a really quaint, quintessentially English style. There was a large framed bed, squashy chairs and lovely antique style wardrobes and finishings. Even the little details were well thought through – from the couch pillows to the vintage phone and the adorable tea set. I really liked all the large mirrors too – it really pulled the room together and made it light, pretty and spacious.

The bed was so, so comfortable. The mattress, duvet and pillows were big, squashy and just divine to crawl into. It was impossible to get up in the mornings!

The bathroom was small, but had everything you need, including a shower with really good pressure. It was cutely decorated – with colourful blue tiles covering the walls.

The location

As previously mentioned, the location of the Kennard Hotel is just on the outskirts of the town. It is a short (and very pretty) 5 minute walk into the center of Bath. The location was absolutely superb – we were able to walk everywhere and yet we felt far away enough that we didn’t hear the late night revellers that tend to invade the town on a Saturday night.

The food

The Kennard is a B&B so breakfast is included each morning, served downstairs in the original kitchens. Again it is very pretty, with all the little decorations nicely adorning the tables and walls. When you walk in, you are warmly greeted by one of the owners who seats you and takes your order. They have several different cooked dishes to choose from, and a cold buffet while you wait. They even have a special coffee menu! We of course went for the strongest one each morning.

The first morning I asked if there was anything vegan they could create for me. Luckily they were able to cook some mushrooms in oil instead of butter, and serve it on toast with cooked tomatoes. It was delicious, and just the kind of thing I’d make at home (maybe with a bit of avocado too). The owner asked if we were staying a second night, and offered to make me a special vegan meal the next day. Result!

The second morning the owner put in my order for a vegan meal, and what came out was a lovely plate full of deliciously cooked veggies on toast, including those amazing mushrooms, plus some sautéed spinach, tomatoes and spiced acorn squash noodles. It was so good, and so nice they made a special effort for my meal. Andrew also really enjoyed his meals both days (he had egg dishes), and the coffee was superb and set us up for the day perfectly.

One thing that I was slightly annoyed by is I did tell the hotel I was vegan in advance (a couple times), and they said that was fine. But then they didn’t really prepare for me. I think it may just be a slight miscommunication between the staff and owners is all.

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at the hotel, and the owners are just lovely – they’ve only owned the hotel 6 months and you can tell they take a lot of pride it in. They were so friendly and it was a delight talking to them. I would certainly recommend this hotel if you are planning a visit to Bath.